Red Force aim to stay perfect in Antigua

TT Red Force will be hoping to maintain their unblemished record in this year’s CG Insurance Super50 tournament when they go up against Leeward Islands at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua on Wednesday.

Thus far, the Kieron Pollard-captained squad have won all three matches against Jamaica Scorpions, Windward Islands Volcanoes and Barbados Pride respectively.

In each match, different players took the responsibility to steer the team to victory as Evin Lewis (107 runs from 92 balls), Lendl Simmons (102 runs from 114 balls) and Jason Mohammed (122 runs from 160 balls) sizzled with the bat against their past opponents.

The Red Force, however, are yet to deliver an all-round dominant display with both the bat and ball. They have, at their disbursal, some of the most talented cricketers in the region, with the likes of Pollard, Simmons, Nicholas Pooran, Denesh Ramdin and Darren Bravo among the lot.

The last time these two teams met was back in November 2019, when the Leeward Islands eliminated TT in the second Super50 semi-final. They went on to lose the final against champions West Indies Emerging Players.

For the 2021 season, Leeward Islands have lost two (against Barbados and Guyana) of their three games played with the only victory coming against Windward Islands in the opening match.

Skipper Devon Thomas will have his work cut out for him as he relies solely on the efforts of vice-captain Montcin Hodge, Amir Jangoo, Kieran Powell, Terrance Ward and Hayden Walsh jr.

TT has not lifted any regional silverware since 2016 and are intent on ending their title drought at this year’s edition.

A win for the Red Force on Wednesday would serve as a morale boost ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Guyana Jaguars.

The Guyana Jaguars hold a similar unbeaten record, this season, having won their last three Super50 matches.